Ribbed-fabric-hosiery-knitting machine



R. W. SCOTT RIBBED FABRIC HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINE sept( 6,1927.1,641,554

Filed May 9. 1922 9 Sheets-Sheet l El la@ 1,641,554 SGP 6; 1927- R. w.scoTT RIBBED FABRIC HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 9, 1922 9sheets-sheet 2 z l d El y u- 136 l "2; "j N e t. 1 S p 6 927 R. w.sco'r'r RIBBED FABRIC HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 9. 1922 9sheets-sheet 5 Sept. 6,1927. 1,641,554

R. W. SCOTT RIBBED FAB'RIC HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 9 1922 9sheets-sheet 4 HHH I Boz/627%);

Sept. 6 1927.

y -R. w. sco'r'r RIBBED FABRI HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 9, 19229 Sheets-Sheet 5 Sept. 6, 1927.

R. W.v SCOTT RIBBED FABRIC HosIRY KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 9, 1922 `9Sheets-Skaai'.l 6

mii]

SF' 17 A 5327.59 5

R.W. SCOTT RIBBED FABRIC HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINE sept.. e, 1927.1,641,554

Filed May 9, 1922 9 sheets-sheet' 'I has 10 aff/Miou Patented Sept. 6,-1927.

UNITED 'STATES y 1,641,554,` PATENT oFF-lcs.v

ROBERT W. SCOTT, OF BABYLON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO SCOTT AN WILLIAMS,mC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F MASSACHUSETTS.

R'IBBED-FABRIC-HOSIERY-KNTTIN'G MACHINE.

Application filed May 9, 19222 Serial No. 559,506.

This invention relates to ,knitting machines adapted to knit ribbedfabric or lain fabric, or articles of hosiery containing bothribbed-fabric and plain-fabric arts side by side, or end to end, orboth; as, or example, to knit by continuous circulatory or oscillatoryoperations a seamless stocking having a ribbed leg with a welt, andJportions, for example the instep and sole, of conjoined ribbed and plainfabric.

One object of the invention is to provide a machine having all of thecustomary plainfabric stocking-knitting appliances, such as usuallyemployed in knitting the leg, heel,

foot and toe portions of a stocking, with devices also capableofknitting a segment of the tube, or all of the tube, of ribbed fabric,vand adapted, by the automatic operation ofthe machine, to knit anarticle of hosiery having portions all of plain fabric, or partly of riband partly of plain fabric or all of plain fabric; or successively ofeach of these fabrics; and capable of making loose courses and tubularwelts at places in the fabric, and `of knitting separately by acontinuous operation a succession of articles containing as featuresportions of the respective fabrics, or Aany of them, each article beingcomplete, in the case of stockings, except for the closure of thetoe-seam, and certain optional treatments of the welt.

Other objects of the invention are to provide for the improvedmanufacture` of ribbed-leg and ribbed-instepstockings, to'

rovide means for' the/improved passage from lain to ribbed fabric, forthe improve frmation of Atubulaiwwelts at'the end of a stocking knitfrom toe to top, and

to produce improved 'partly-ribbed and partly-plain articles of hosierywithout resorting to transfer of loops from one needle to another. Stillfurther objects of the invention are to provide improved means forvselvaging and for ktuclring, to provide iinric formed by the machineand in ,respect ments e of ny ycast-off functions, replacing the fabrictaken l .accompanying drawin in whichproved means for maintaining upon'the fabgs ferredV kinds ofcylinder needles;

A general object of the invention is to combine devices for automaticcoordination for the above purposes, and within the severe conditionsset by limitations of space and necessity' for non-interference between`the several agencies of a machine of the automatic circularstocking-knittin type, so that the new devices shall still e capable ofcorrect, reliable and automatic performance ofA all of the old as wellas of the new functions reachingv the objects above mentioned, and thusbe adapted to turn out products of uniform excellence with a minimum ofattention by the operator.

The invention utilizes some of the instruprior application Serial No.461,195, ,le' April 14, 1921, for rib-knitting by the operation ofcomplementary pair of series of knitting instruments; provides means foractuating these .parts in a differ- 'l5 ent way for the presentpurposes, and rovides a web-holder I nechanismadapte tov cooperatedifferently with respective se ments of the needles and .fabric beingInae for the purpose of-aiding the and up usual inv rib-knittinmachines, and` adapted for the purpose o? knitting in sepa-l ratesuccession partly 'rihbedl and' partly plain hosiery according to theupresent disclosure. Y( Y y I i tion common to my said application andthis disclosure; y

These devices "are combined with means adapted to the new devices forautomatically adjusting the machneto accommodate its new and oldagencies. tothe s'uccessivedifferent l duced. Y.

The invention will non1 be e.\ lained-in'- connection ,with ay specificenibo( imeut arranved to ribbed-instep Vand ribbed-leg stoc ngs fromtoeito top and shown inthef Fig'l .is a right side elevation of themachine, parts being in section;

Fig; 2 is an elevation partly iii section on the line 2 -2 of Fig.1,``on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 1s an elevation on an enlaro'ed scale l showin two-part. dialneedles preerredvto be use' in the dialp- Figs. 3s andffare'sectionsandW-b of l3; y

Fig. 4 is lan elevation showing the pre- I do not herein claim theinvent;

parts'of its product, VAas these areproi operating connections for theseparts;

Fig. 5. is development of the cylinder cams showing paths taken bycertain of the needles; l

Fig. 6 is a plan in section through the dial cams showing the preferredrelation of the dial cams tothe cylinder cams by comparisonwithFig.5; f

Fi 7 is a detail plan partly in section on the hne 7--7 of Fig. 2showing the dial cap and operating connections, the latch ring, the yarnfeeding fingers and the yarn severing and clamping means;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged exterior development of a part of the dial verge,the fabric tensioning fins or ribs on the dial, the-c linder anddial'needles, and the web hol ers;

Fig. 9 4and Fig. 10 are respectively en,- largedv elevations of plainweb holders and of tensioning web holders;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged detail section illustrating a preferredconstruction at the verge of the dial;

l' Fig.l 12 is a plan above the bed plate and cylinder cams, showing theneedle pickers, the switch and dividing cams, the auxiliary needleraising and depressing cams, and the NF ig. 13 is an enlarged elevationpartly in l section on line 13--13 of Fig. 12, showing vmeans forloperating vthe bottom center cam; Fig.' 14 is a rear side elevation;Fig. 15 a plan; andy Fig. 16 an under plan of the web-holder cam cap;

Figs.'17, 18 and 19 are respectively' sections on the lines 17-17, 18-18and 19`19 ofFig.1'5; W Fi 20 1s a detail right side elevation on a reuced scale of the vconnections for raising and lowering the dial and forworking one of the web holder cams;

Fig. 21 is a comparative diagram illustrating the relations to eachother o f parts of the means for raising and lowering-the 'dial andparts of themechanism for operatingthe dial cams;

ig. 22 is a diagram plan showing'therelations of the different kinds ofoperating butts of the knitting and fabric-tensionmg instruments;

Fig. 23 is a diagram elevation of al portion of the instruments of themachine and of the fabric illustrating the relations of the differentinstruments to the fabric;

Fig 24 is a diagram elevation of a stock-- ingrillustrating one typicalproduct;

ig. 25 is a detail showing the stocking the machine, 'before looping;

Fig. 26 is an enlarged longltudinal section through the top of the legand the welt oPf the stocking shown in Fig. 24'; and Y Fig. 27 is anenlarged outside or face view diagram of the fabric at the junctures ofplain and ribbed knitting, for instance 'at the areas 27a and 27b `ofFig. 24.

of Fig.2in

reference to one product capable of manufacture on it. Stockings forwinteror sporting wear, or forcliildren, are in ost satisfactory whenmade of ribbed fabric, which combines elastic properties insuringcomfort and a good fit with an excellent appearance.

Referring now to F igs. 24 to 27 these illustrate a preferred productand certain steps in the art or method of producing it, not hereinclaimed, for explanation of the -results and advantages of this machine.As shown, the stocking Z, Fig. 24, comprisesa seamless foot having theusual plain fabric toe a plain fabric rino t next to the toe' 2D 7 aplain fabric sole S and ribbed instep p,

`(which may have any desired number of wales proportionally to the totalnumberof wales anywhere in the product); the usual heel h, and. a shortsection of plain fabric h above the heel.

llhe leg L is of rib knitting, preferably of uniform pattern such as2-and-1 or 4-and-1, and at the junctures r1 and r2 between ribbed tiveappearance, is secured by a structure presently explained. The leg ispreferably fashioned at the-calf by predetermined vavriation inY thelength of stitch, and the upper end of the stocking is provided with aandplain a `sharp line of demarcation free .from holes, of strong fabricand of attracwelt W of plain fabric of desired length,

ending in a section W of ribbed fabric, Fig. 26,.which may, if desired,be sewed t0 insure durability on the line lLoL-fw?, lv2-w8, or both.

In some cases, where a turned welt of ribbed fabric only is desired.,the plainfabric welt WV made by the automatic operation of the machinemay he very'short to serve only as a guide for use in applying theinturned upper end of the leg L, at the predetermined length fixed bythe machineplaced welt, to the pins of'a looper. inj order to sew down aportion of the inturiied upper. end of the ribbed leg to forni the welt.When this is done, the machine-made welt W may be' raveled away or cutoff after sewing. Whichever way of finishing the fabric is resortedto,the machinev automatically predetermines the length the stitchlength,the kind of yarn, and all other. features of the structure madeReferring now to Fig. 25, in the preferred operation the ystocking isbegun by first forming a selvage s on the bare needles. for instance bythe method explained -in iny re issued Patent No. 13,7 52, June 16,1914,and

by then making loopers 'rounds 7' of plain l fabric before beginning thetoc. I The ribbed fabricbeginning respectively at the structures r1 andr2` includes added wales w1, w'ms etc. Fig. 27, whichv may be producedby causing dial needles a b to enter the spaces between any desiredrecurrent pairs of cylinder, needles n. To make the structures r1 and r2this entrance is 1n respect t'o and to take loops z in courses 15, T",into which the loops of tucked (accumulated-loop) partial courses r3,1'* are del tained to 'be cast off with the knit loops -r' of thecourses T5, r9. The tucked loops are independent in number, in theparts-of the course containing them, of the number of rib wales acletc., but preferably are in such number as to occur always in one or theother of the wales flanking that containing anl initialdial' loop z. Theleg of a loop r1 thus always extendsl across the eyelet-bole which wouldotherwise be formed.

For forming the selvage s, alternate needles of one ofthe twoseries,'cylinder and dial, are.arranged to be active and 1nactive, theremainder being ever-active. The

Atuck stitches in the demarking structures r1 and r2 are formed on theseoccasionally active needles. v fThe machine generally.-Referrmg to Figs.1, .2 and v5, the machine frame parts -BV etc., the drive-shaft 32, andgearedl connections 3,0, 31 and'g, g5, 33. gf, g3, gs, g2, ghrespectively for driving Ain unlsoxr the cylinder 260, the dial-spindled and dial D concentric with the cylinder and rotatable in a bearing d8of bracket A on thelatch-guard ring 550, may all be substantially likethe prior machines. The lring 550, dla-l D, and their' attachments arepivoted at 552, and

may be lifted away vfrom relation to the other parte, all, for example,as shown in my prior Patent No. 1,282,958, dated October 20, 1918. i

Themeans for operating the shaft 32, lthe pattern-drum. 120and itsdriving connections 121, 122, 123; the cam-shaft 8O and 'itsattachments, the primary pattern chain Y C, Fig. 1, and the thrust-bars460 serving as voperatingconnections to parts controlledl by drum 120may be substantially those of the priorl art.

4The needles of the cylinder 260 may be divided into a longer-buttsegment (which may include certain medium-butt needles presentlymentioned)- for the instep, and a The cylinder needles may be anydesired tvpe of needles. shown as latch needles n, Fig. 4. having longbutts nl, short butts n3, and medium butts n3. Recurrent needles amongthese. shown as alternate needles, are ever-active needles, and areprovided -with jacks380 actuated by a cam 366, adapted to lift them outof a depression 40, beneath the, normal level 41, at which their latchesare not cleared of the previous loop, to a level high enough to reach anadvancing cam to cause them to clear their latches. The upper surfacesof the respectivestitch-cams 360, 36,1, lift and clear the latches ofall needles reaching'them.

The drum 120 is moved intermittently, at times by steps corresponding tosuccessive passages by certain points of the cam-ring of the long-buttor the. short-butt segments of needles, as in my prior patentedmachines, and at these points respectively operating 'cams 4, K25 aremovable (by appropriate connections, presently mentioned, to cams onsaid drum) toward and from .the needlecylinder in stages, to permittheir partial insertion during passage of the short-butts, to firstoperate the leading long-butt needles,

and to permit Vcom lete insertion before pasa sage of the shortutts.Their Withdrawal is in similar stages. to last loperate the followingend of the long butt segment. The dividing cam 4,' Fig. 5, is .operatedin conjunction with a movable bottom center cam 9 for the purpose ofdetermining whether the'neeflles without jacks shall pass' above cam 360and be active, or shall idly pass beneath the' leading and followingstitch cams; or shall pass under the leading cam 361 and be elevated bycam 9 to take yarn at times land for pur oses again referred to below.Needles wit jacks 380v are everactive and always pass the cams 360, 361in operative relation, except those with the long and medium butt-s,which pass above the switch cam 415 and top center cam 357 duringreciprocatory knitting, 'as usual.

Other needle Lcams presently mentioned are operated from the continuallybut intermittently advanced primary chain C, which initiates motion ofshaft 8O and drum 120. The times of all operations are thus related tomotions of chain C; of drum 120;l of shaft 80, or their attachments, asvinduced by the primary pattern chain C.`

The needle cylinder is vertically' movable in respect to the dial D, thelatch-ring 550 los and cam-ring 271 for the purposeof alterl ing therelation of 'thecylinder and dial, and also for Valteringthe vrelationof the limits of the vertical stroke of the cylinder needles to theknocking-over line at the verge of the cylinder. This line is determinedby ann per surface of. weh-holders, presently mentioned, working betweenthe needles, and bearing on an attachment of the cylinder. The effect oflowering the `cylinder is to lower the web-holders and relatively toraise the top and bottom limits of the motion of the needles lin respectto the web-holders.

Means for automatically raising and lowerving the cylinder preferablycomprise a lever pivoted on the frame stud 450, and having larms 281 and286 respectively contacting with cams on drum 120 and with a lug on a Ytube'280, upon which thevbottom bearing for cylinder 260 rests, allaswell known.

Motion of the needle cylinder vertically is made use of in connectionwith chan eable positions of the dial, for purposes exp ainedgrooved atd1 to define a narrow circular verge d2 an appropriate short distanceconcentrically within the space defined by the backs of the cylinderneedles n. The bottom surface of the dial slopes upwardly at d* todefine the narrow verge d2. There may cylinder needles be Vin the dialas many grooves d3 as there are cylinder needles n, or any divisor o fthis number. The relative rotative lpositions of cylinder and dial aresuch as to bring the dial grooves d3 into the radial planes between thegroovesfor the cylinder needles. The under side of the dial is ooved toleave integral partitions or fins d5 in the radial planes .'of thecylinder needles, preferably all the cylinder needles, as shown in Fi.8. As shown, there are half as many dial needles as there are alternateever-,active (those provided with jacks), and the rib-pattern isfour-and-one. If the intervening empty dial grooves da were providedwith needles, the pattern would be two-and-one. The needle-dial, the

needles, their operating cam-cap and yarn'- se'vering andguiding meanscarried byA the cam-cap' are provided with raising and lowv'eringmeansautomatically operating to adjust the position ofthe dial"at.times, as

presently to be mentioned.'

The pattern of rib, whetherthe same all aroundthe stockin or differentin different segments, is contro led ,by` the position and relativenumber ofthe-dial needles, which may be varied within any arrangementpermitted by thev number of grooves' in the dial.

As ex laned below, the dialneedles arev arrange to be automaticallyoperated insuch a .way as to be held idle, to make knit-v ting ,niovements, to retire and hold loops, or tobe rdired empty and remainretired;

these operations are effected so as to involve either atselected series,a segment or segments only of the dial needles, for makingribbed-fabric'and plain-fabric sevments'side by side; or toinvolve allof the dial needles, -an-.l thus' lo make ribbed fabric all around thetubebeingknit; or to make plain fabric all around thecirclc on thecylinder needles only, the dial needles then `being idle and disengagedvfrom the fabric, or to retire Iwhile engaging a loop or bi ht of yarn,

during operation of the cylin er, to make a welt. The dial needles,(Figs. 3 and 22) a and b', or shorter butts a2`and b2, andy ,1

havinflr vhooks facing each other, and arranged and adapted to operateaccording to my Patent No. 1,385,929, dated July 26, 192 l -The cylinderneedles, referring now to Figs. 5 and 6, are the primary needles, beinfedwvith yarn prior to passing the radia plane g3, ya, of said figures,and knitting at the lower apex of cam 361. The dial needles when activesecondarily receive yarn fromA the cylinderneedles, and knit at theradial plane g/-y ofsaid figures 'after the cylinder stitch has beenlcastoif f The web-holders.-Tlie cylinder is provided with a Web-holderbed 295 and webliolders of two kinds, 'w1 and fw2 Figs.,9 and 10, oneweb-holder working or lying inl a radial plane between every pair of theneedles n (Fig. 8)v and directly under such dial thus lie between thepositions of the webholders 'w1 and wz, Figs. 2, 8 and 11.

Some of the web-holders are 4plain web holders such as shownat w1, Fig.9, havin' upper arms recessed at'fw, below the leve 'wueof the throatsunder the hooks wmwhich prevent rise of the fabric withl the needles.Otherwise thev web-holders'w1 are of any desired type, but preferablyare each provided with an upper'arm zo, a parallel lower arm lw having astraig t bottom' fw", andv have uniformshort and broad operatin buttsw8, and a notch fw? for a spring ban w, Fig. 2.

The function of the Web-holders Iw1 is that usual in the art, the fabricbeingheld'down by the hooks 'w10 a ainst rising with the needle andtheknocking-over line being e'stablished in res ect to the level lw of aWehl holder slight y -.w-ithdrawn in respect to the fdowngoing needle.The web-holders w1 are lplaced recurrently among the other webolders'102 as frequently as nece:saryte provide a web-holder w1 bet-Ween eachface Wale of the fabric, except between.` those facehold-down hooks w1,the upper surface aan,

and the band notches @0% d are in at )leas needles as maybe placed inthe grooves d,

ial is provided pand into certain engagement with its fabricfeedingserrations w13. Q dial at the preferred ositlon for tensioning fabricextendin two series having respectively dierent operating means, forinstance, short operating butts rw" and long operating ,butts w18, whichseries ma)7 correspond to differentiated segments of the ,dial-needleswhich are to be operated independently. The inward end cf the arm lw isrouhened, ser-r rated'or provided with forwar ly and upwardly projectingpoints w13, preferably extending above the surface w and arranged inrounding relation about the end of the upper arm w, and adapted on theforward stroke' of the web-holder from an abnormally retracted position,under certain circumstances, to en age the face surface of a back or ribwa e and feed forward the from the region of the surace w11 wit-hin andover the end of the arm lur", and -to release the fabric on the rearwardstroke. That is to say, this action takes place when the fabric isproperly presented to the tensioning web-holders we. This occurs whenthe dial is low or the cyll inder is high, so that the partitions orfins d5 on the dial then serve to force the fabric downward over each ofthe web-holders 'w2 re 2 shows the the fabricby the action ofweb-holders 'wz. During making of plain fabric, during lweltin'g andduring reciprocating knitting y11e-eis ois ' for and toes, the dial maybe in a relativelyA highposition, and during such times the tensioningweb-holders lwz have normal motions only,`an1f perform the usualfunctions only in relation to the fabric knit on the adjacent cylinderneedles. The web holders lw2 having the longer butts 'wsma be placed inthe instep segment of the needle circle t' correspond to the series ofdial needles having the longer butts a1, b1, Fig. 22, for the particularuses of the machine shown.

During the formation of fabric ribbed in one segment and plain in'another segment, the 'tensioning web-holders w2 may-.operate asnormalweb-holders in the plain fabric segment, and be. given theirtensioning movement in the ribbed-fabric segment, the preferredarrangement for this purpose comarising means for actingdiferently onthe different series of these tensioning webholders. When the dial islowered, and the f web-holders 'w2 have anormal short movement, theserrations fw will engagethe back or dial needle-wales ofthe rib fabric,or the corresponding sinker wales ofplain fabric, and feed it inward anddownward as it grows, but without exerting any more marked tension thanthat customary for the web-holders used with'cylinder needles forplain-fabric knitting. But upon withdrawing abnormally any of theweb-holders w* and again advancing them to their normalA inwardposition, they will exert a full tensioning effect upon the fabricengaged by their serrated ends.

Inward throw of the tensioning web holders L02 ispreferably the functionof a single spring-pressed cam adjustable to vary the maximum tensionand acting equally upon all of the butts ofthe tensioning web-holders1.02.

For the purpose of knitting at will plain tubular fabric, fabric ribbedall around, and ribbed-fabric and plain-fabric segments of the sametubular fabric side by side, this invention provides means by which thenor-v on the instep segment, a normal web-holder action on the solesegment, and to provide rib-knitting tension all around the tube duringknitting of the ankle and leg. The preferred way of doing this is tocontrol the withdrawing motion of the tensioning webholders .conformablyto thenumber and place of the active dial needles at any time.

By confining the fabric tensioning means to instruments associated withthe needles, severally and automatically controlled, I am able toformpartly ribbed and artly'plain fabric without any of the disavantages of y placlng the whole knit web under lengthwise tension; and Iam also-able to vary the tension on one part of the web, as comparedwith another art simultaneously being knit I thus provi e forknit-tingevery part ofy articles produced in separate succession underthe best conditions for accurate operation of the knitting instrumentsproper; strains on the yarn are avoided; and suitable tension is securedfor knocking over or completing both the ribbed and the lain fabricstitches during wide variation o the stitchlength for fashioning thestocking'orpother article.

T'he web-holder actuating Meca-Reerring nowto Figs. 1, 2, 9, 10 and 14to 19 inclusive, the usual grooved web-holder bed ,295 fast on theneedle cylinder 260 has a running bearing within a depending flange ofthe web-holderA cam cap 300, which '1s restrained against rotation withthe cylinv.der in each direction by the usual stops 302,

Fig. 1, and is further provided (Figs. 14 to 19) with a relativelyshallow concentric groove 301 wideJ enou h to take over -the broad butts'ws of the p ain web-holdersw, and to permit radial play` of thesweb-holders inwardly to a point suiiieient to maintain the hooks 'wmagainst the yarn of the last course knit.,v The band fw holds theweb-holders in this position with suieient The lain we -holders lw atthe end of their with rawal by cam 304 are v.positively driven inward byrelatively thin adjustably fixed cams 306, 307, mounted in horizontalslots 308, 309 cut through the cam cap, and act-l ing on the butt endsof the web-holders w1.

tCam 307 is active in the direction of roundand-round knitting, andinserts the webholders moved by it immediately after the recession ofthe cylinder needles to their lowest point at cam 361, Fig. 5, for theusual web-holder function.

The tensioning web-holders lw2 are independently controlled. Havingbutts lw1",

w1 respectivel. higher and narrower than the butts 'wf o theweb-'holders .101, the cap 300 may be provided with any desired sys-.

' tem of -grooves and cams. at a higher level y than the cams for thebutts 'w8 for diii'erently directing the butts lw, wiwyvithin theradiallimits of the groove 301"'"iprfits en- 'largsments As shown, thecap is`provided wit a groove 310 deeper and' narrowerthan the groove 301to accommodate the butts of the tensioning web-holders. This groove hasa minimum radius preferably the same as that ofthe groove 301 and thelinward faces lof the web-holder l) same radial distance from their hooksw, so'4 that the inward limit of throw of both kinds of webvholders isthe same. But the length of the tensionin web-holders fw from theirhooks 101 to t eir outer ends is 'less than that of lthe plainweb-holders, and

the tensioning web-holders are thus capable 0f bein withdrawn outwardlywithout contact wil the Acams for the plain webholders to an abnormaldistance, for the purpose of seizingl bylthe points w fabric 1n positiontobeso seized. Reinsertion of an abnormally withdrawn web-holder lw2 nowtensions the fabric between the points w and the needles. j

I .All of the tensioning web-holders may be such reinserted incommonwhen normally or abnormally withdrawn by a movablecam heldinwardly against an adjustable stop by a predetermined s ring pressure.As shown, a cam 312 1s pivoted at 313 in slot 309 at a level above thecam 307 and acted upon by an adjustable spring plunger 315 to hold anadjustable eccentrlc limit stop 314 on utts areall the ymanana.

the 'cam against the wall of the cam-cap. When the function and movementof the web-holders is normal, for plain fabric, the operation of cam 312is merely to advance these web-holders to their normal inward v extendeddownwardly to be acted on by plate spring 319, and 'adapted to bewithdrawn during round and round Iknitting by a link 134 to the patterndevices, presently mentioned. If not withdrawn, this cam v'wouldneedlessly stress the fabric at web holders fw.

, The tensioning effect of any of the Webl,holders ./w2 bein dependentupon whether ithas been wit idrawn abnormally, before reaehin the cam312, the inventin includes means or acting on all or some only of ltheseweb-holders to predetermine abnormal withdrawal of selected members only0r all of the series of web-holders wz. shown, butts lw, lw1S of twodifferent lengths only are suilicient -for making the stocking of Fig.24, the longer-butt web-holders bein placed, see Figs. 22 and 23 tocorrespon to the instep p, and the shorter-butt webholders being placed'in the remainder of the circle; but any different arrangement of theseweb-holders and further differentiation of their butts may be resortedto for other purposes within the invention. To actuate theseweb-holders, a pattern-controlled withdrawing cam 325, Figs. 14, 15, 16and 18, is the preferred instrument. f

Havn regard to thelack of space above the webolder cap 300, the lostmotion in a rotary sense of this cap, and the narrow space between theweb-holder butts andthe needles, I prefer to construct and .operate thecam 325 as follows: An opening 326 is formed, see-Figs.16 and 18,through the upper surfacel .of the web-holder-cam-cap 300 communicatingwith the groove 310. In Y this openin the cam 325 is arranged forvertical mot1on into and out of contact with the butts fw and with thebutts fw" of the web-holders wz, the lowermost' position of the cam 325being limited` by the step 305 Vof the upper surface yof vthe cam cap300 to which it is attached by screws 328, 328. Thlsspring segment 327is ben-t upwardly from points near the screws 328 to prpvide a Hatportion 329'normally raised above the upper'surface of the cap 300 andhaving cam 325 -mounted on its under side by the screws 330. The fiatportion 329 ot' the 'spring 327 is provided with an outwardly extendinglug 331 of greater angular extent than the usual lost motion movement oft cap 300.

Any suitable means for depressing the cam 325l automatically mayherprovided: for instance, referring now toFigS. 1 and20, one of -thethrust bars 460comprising the pattern operated lconnections from thedrum 120 is provided with an adjustable actuator 332 having an inwardprojection resting above the lug 331. Downward movement of the 'thrustbar 46() by its relatively 'heavy spring 333 will depress the spring32'( and the cam 325,tothe`extent determined by the' operating Vcam(such as 325, Fig. 13) for 2Bthat bar 460 on the drum 120. This cam may,according to the product, have a portion e corresponding `in height tothe idle portion, a portion e to the partly depressed' position, and aportion e2 to the. fully' deressed position of cam 325. andcorresponding. in angular extent to the length of the plain, thepartlyribbedandpartly-plain, and theall-iiround-ribbed parts ofthe'vfabric, respectively. l f

, Whenever the actuator 332 isielevated tothe position shown in Figs.-1and2`0, tor' in-` j stance, the cam1325 is. Vwithdrawn by the spring327, and 'all offthe. web-libders are normally actuated. .'Whenever'thecani 325 isdepreed through a'partfof "rtsuseful freedom of motion,it first contacts with the leading high butt w1'3 ofthe series ofwebholders vw2 and the'n abnormally withdraws each of the high buttweb-holders "wz. When resting against the step 305, at its lowest`position, the cam 325 acts 'upon and l withdraws alll of theweb-holderswe. The

\ stages of motion downward of cam 325 are i J end of the shaft 80 anappropriate 'lever timed, 'by the usual devices for moving drum 120, totake place just prior to passage vof the leading long buttv and theleading sho'it butt dial needle. VThe cap 300 may be cut away at 324,Figs. 15and 16, to permit the abnormal outward movement'of theweb-holders. n Means for giving related motions to the cylinder and dialand the web holders may be rovided as follows:

eferring now to Figs. 1, 2, 20 and 21.

vertical motignsof thev dial'may be secured r by any convenientautomatic connection under control of pattern surfaces of the machine,such as a cani on or", rotating in unison lwith themain cam shaft 80. A

preferred connection for this purpose coniyprises an appropriate cam 80,Fig. 20, attached to the face of the gear 122 on the through and rotatewith the gear g1, and is arrangements are such that up and down- 122worked by this cam,` having a vertical 65 operating connection 125.

The connection 125 `lpasses up behind they d'rum 120 to a link 126pivoted to the connection 125 and to the latch ring pivot post providedwith an arm (Z13 held to a bearing upon the upper end of the dialspindle d by a cap d fastened through a bore in the arm d to the dialspindle d. The arm 13 carries a downwardly extending adjustment alsoprovided with a steadying connection d10 extending through a. hole inbracket A to the dial cap D presently mentioned. These motion ot' therear end of the lever 128 will move the dial (and the dial cap restingupon its upper face) vertically throughthe desired small distances, intime with the rotary motions of shaft 80 and the gear 122. The verticalmotions of the cylinder 260, controlled through the lever 281 and thedrum 120;,'are thus coordinated with the means for verticallypositioning the dial.

Cain 80*l may have as shown high parts 80, 80e, 80d respectivelycorresponding to high positions of the dial for the plain-fabricknitting at the selva-ge, loopers rounds, the toe, the toe part of thefoot; at the heel; and at the welt. The intervening low parts 80, 80,80g respectively position the dialin a low position for the partlyribbed and. partly plain tube for the instep and sole; for the partlyribbed and partly plain ankle section, the ankle and leg; and for theribbed fabric following the welt.

In some cases, as when it is desirable Vto change yarns during the legto compensate for the increased stitch-length and hi her positions ofthe needle cylinder cause to fashion the lcalfot the leg, and for otherpurposes,` the dial may be'liftedl to4 better V ting.A Thisarrangementl'is Asuch as to eii-v screw d1 lying above the lever 128,and is i aofi,

iis

able the dial to be positioned vas desired by motions of connections 125through an upper range of its movements; 'and toenable the connection134 to he pulled upon to withdraw cam 316 when the dial is in its lowposition for rib knitting.

Dial needle motonsf-For rib knitting, when the dial lneedles areoperative as secondary needles, as preferred, to `knit in the radialplane y, Figs. 5 and 6, following, in the rotation of the machine, theradial plane k at which the cylinder needles knit, the dial needles aresupplied with yarn by the runs of yarn lying between the hooks of thecylinder needles, and the rib or back wales m1, m2, fr. ctc.: Figs. 23and 27, knit by the dial needles, are formed of these runs of yarn.

Preferred means for giving the dial needles their motions will beunderstood by reference to Figs. 2, 6 and 7. The dial cam cap D1, heldagainst rotation by the post d, carries cam rings d defining betweenthem a broad concentric groove dl. Mov- .able knitting cams areinterposed in this groove, and certain fixed cam margins ofthis groovecooperate with the interposed cams.

The movable knitting cams may comprise the cam 13, for advancing thehook parts a of the needles, the camy 12 for advancing the point parts bof the needles, and the cam 10,

which operates onboth the hook member a and the point-member b of thedial needles. The dial cams may also include a'xed separator cam 14.

When the respective butts of the part a of the needle and the part btravel concentrically in the broad groove d", the dial needles are intheir idle or welting position illustrated in Fig. 2.

-ber a,'and thus will be in position to be en- VIl() tered from withoutand lifted by the point b1 of the member b. The member b is nowretracted for the purpose of taking this loop on the point 61'?. Thismovement is efeoted by the fixed withdrawing incline 15. The

-hook a1o of the part a of the needle is now exposed to receive yarn,which is accomplished by the descent of the cylinder needles withthe newyarn in their hooks.

This secondary feeding takes place between the yplanes y and. k, Fig. 5,so that the needle` part a upon further recession,

.draws the dial loop subsequently to knocking-over of the cylinderloop,and during .rise of the cylinder needles between and y. The inwardmotion of the needle part a is completed at the apex of vcam 10 (atholders 'w2 is transmitted from their rela-v tively remote serratedends, is measured by the spring pressure at cani 312, and is exerted inthe wales corresponding to the dial needles.

The recession of the dial needles to the point indicated in Fig. 2, justwithin the dial verge d2, would not be sufficient to cast off theprevious loo if the dial needles were any of the kinds o needlescustomarily employed. But outward motion of the points b1 aided by thetension on the fabric of the tensioning web-holders wz, now lifts theloops olf the needley parts a, the advance of the point member breleasing the loops and dropping them on to the new loops. Thisloop-lifting and cast-off movement of the members b is effected by theoutthrow surface 11 of cam 10 (Fig. 6).

The dial needle parts a and b are now returned to their idle .position bthe cam slopes 10 and 10" respectively ig. 6).

The cams 10, 12 and 13 of the knitting cam group are suitably, and bypreference adjustably, mounted together for motion on dial D1 toward andfrom the needles; for instance on a carrier block 615, Fig. 7, havingholes guided on vertical pins 616 and 618 on dial cap D1, `and alsohaving a housing 617 over pin 618 for a spring taking against the top ofpin 618. The dial cap is cut through at d .to permit the cams carried bythe block 615 to enter into contact with the needle butts, whenever thehousin 617 is pushed down by the inner endof a ever 613, pivoted at 612to a bracket 620 attached, for instance, to the latch ring 550.

The lever 613 is operated by suitable cams such as 120", Fig. 21, on'drum 120, and the thrust bar 461, the upper end of which takes a ainsta pin 529 ecoentrically mounted for a justment at the outer end of thelever 613 (Figs. 1 and 7).

When block 615 is depressed only so far as to engage itscams with thelonger butt series of the needles a b, the dial needles are entered andoperated in a corresponding segment only of the fabric.

When further depressed, all of the dial needles are operated. Whenwithdrawn after knitting, all of the dial needles are left vin theposition of Fig. 2, and the dial loops are retained for welting or otherpur- When, as .explained above, it is desirable to lift the dialJduringrib knitting, for example by the segment h of cam 80, Fig.

21 the inward end of lever 613 Aisprefera ylifted to avoid motion of thedial knitting cams in respect to dial cap D', whichrises with the'dial.This is provided for by providing a step 1205' in cam 120x fop the-bar 462 'to a lower level conforming in angular position to the effectiveposit-ion of the se'gment 8()h on cam 80a.

Y am feed meam.-The machine is providedA with usual yarn-feeding meansfor a stocking knitting machine, including a series `ofpattern-controlled yarn feed guide fingers F adapted to be lowered intooperative position as shown at the left of the series in Fig. 7, andraised to inoperative position. One or more of these yarn guides may bearranged to be actuated for splicing or other auxiliary yarn supply, andany of themA may be worked for yarn changing by the usual expedients.Except when splicing, the yarn withdrawn from knitting is thrown abovethe upper surface of the dial cap D', upon which it is taken vunder theclamp member e and is severed by the vvshears e',

.the clamp and severing means being appropriately operated by the lever611 and one of the thrust bars 460. In order to prevent the withdrawnyarns from passing above the cam carrier block 615', the preferred`structure includes a spur 615a projecting radially from the block 615.

- The usual brush latch-opener 425 Fig. 5, is preferably employed, andthe machine may be driven through automatic speed-changing powerconnections.

Cylinder-needle operating defvzfleesa-Referring to Figs. 24 to 27 andFig. 5', the selvage s by which the fabric is'begurronthe `bare needles,the last stocking having been cast off. may be made according to my saidreissued lPatent No. 13,752 by feeding an initial varn from one of theyarn-lingers F first to ever-active recurrent cylinder needles only. theremainder being inactive, andthen normally actuating and feeding all ofthe cylinder needles. For this purpose the dividing cam 4, Fig. '5, iscaused to enter in two stages, depressing in turn below the leadingstitch cam 360 all of the long and short butt series of needles notprovided with jacks 380. Jacks 380 operate. at cam 366 to lift theirever-active needles back to the normal path above cam 360. The depressedneedles Withoutjacks travel below the normal (dotted-line) position oflower center cam 9 and rejoin the other needles under cam 361. Cam 4 isthen Withdrawn to run off the endl of the long butt series (with whichthe medium butt needles n2 are included). If the yarn finger F enteredits yarn justbeforev thelast long` butt needle passed it, thc cam 4being in, the yarn will now have been fed to all of the needles withjacks, and will be held inward at the places of the intervening needlesby the action 'of the Web-holders.

On the nextcourse', cam 4 being Withdrawn, all of the needles knit, thusforming the selvage s, and subsequent fabric may be made as desired. Cam4, see Figs. 1 and 5, may be, like similar cams of my prior patents, theinner end ,of a slide, worked by a horizontal lever 24 from a cam 23 ona thrust-bar 461 moved by cams on drum 120 in proper time `withpassageby Ait of certain segments of the needles.

I utilize the devices referred to combined with other devices, for thepurpose of making the eyelet-hole-closing and ribbed-fabric demarkingcourses r1 and r2, Figs. 24 and 27, by a tucking operation.

The lower center cam 9 which is commonly fixed, is inthis case pivotedat 7 (Figs. 5, 12 and 13) and is provided with a pin 9a extendingthrough a hole in the cam cylinder 271 to engage the forked inner end ofan actuator adjustably fastened by screws 22 to a thrustbar 460. Whenbar 460 is lowered, cam 9 is positioned, as shown in Fig. 5, across thepath of needle butts depressed by cam 4 to pass under cam 360, and theseneedles, which have not, cleared their previous loops, pass up cam 9.totake yarn, in addition to their `previous loop, from any finger F Whichmay bein operative position. Although those needles then travel down cam361, they do not knit, not having cleared. But on the next course, ifnot again .lepressed by cam 4, the old loop r6 and the bight 1" (Fig.27) of yarn so received are both cast ofi on the yarn loop normallytaken in course 1"". n

Cam 9, when tilted as shown in Fig. 5, functions normally for needlespassing over cam 360 and under cam 357 in round and round knitting,iandneed be in its normal position only when needles depressed by cam 4 mustpass the yarn feed guides Without taking yarn. e. g., for the selvage s,and during heel and toe knitting. A suitable cam 21 on drum 120, Fig.13, lifts the bar 46() to restore cam 9 to its normal position after thespecial function is performed. Cam 4 is operated to cause the jacklessneedles to tuck during so many courses or such parts of courses as it iseffective to depress these needles.-y The preferred structure detainsthe loops r during one subsequent course only. Normal operation of theCain 4 to produce a single course containing the tuck stitches such lasthe courses r3, 7'* of Fig. 27 will therefore be occasioned by a motionof drum 120, acting through the thrust bar 461 and the cam 23 to insertthe cam 4 to first operate the longer butt needles, to then operate theshorter butt segment of needlesl and to run oli the last needle of thelong butt segment on its second passage. In order to confine thecombined effect of the cams 4 and 9 toa single course or to a segmentonly of a single course the cam 25 is arranged for coaction with theneedles to advance the leading longer butt needle and those followingbutt needles, and cam 4 can thereafter be withdrawn out of reach of theshort butts at any time after a single whole revolution.

But if it is desired to tuck only on some segment of the needlesselected by their butts, for example to tuck on the lonO' butt needlesnl only, this can be accomplislied inthe following way:

The inward motion of the cam 4 is confined by a suitable operating camon the drum to contact with the longer butt segment of needles nl only.The combined effect of the cams 4 and 9 is now onl upon the segment ofneedles n1, correspon ing to the dial needles having'the longer butts a1and b1. Motion inward of the cam 4 to this extent may therefore beemployed to make the demarking structure r1 at the beginning of theribbed fabric for the instep of the stocking.

When it is desired to knit the demarking structure r2 on thecomplemental segment o needles, for instance on the short butt needles nand the intermediate butt needles n3, this is accomplished by thevcombined action of the cams 25 and 4, these cams being positionedtogether inwardly so that the cam 25 encounters the longer butts andraises them out of the reach of the cam 4, which, during their passage,is positioned all the way in to encounter the medium and shorter buttneedles, and cause those among them without the jacks 380 to pass up thecam 9 and take the yarn without having cleared. It will be apparent thatthe selection of any series of needles having differentiated butts, e.g. of the medium butt needles n3, is easily accomplished by thiscombination of devices.

In order to coordinate the motions of the cam 25 with the motions of thecam 4 and referring now to Figs. 1 and 12, I prefer to operate the cam25 from .the primary pattern chain C rather than from the main patterndrum 120. For the specific purpose of making the product illustrated inFigs. 24 and 27, activity of the cam 25 follows shortly after theknitting of heels and toes, and for this and other rea-sons it isconvenient to operate the cam 25, the switch cam 415, and

the widening picker 680 (all active at about this general time), fromthe same con'nec tions, which can have different positions for theserespective purposes.

- Referring to Fig. 1, on the stud shaft 200 a rocker 201 having an arm202 standing over the position of lugs 203 on the left hand side of themutable-link pattern chain C is provided with forked arm 204 takingunder a collar 205 on an actuating thrust rod 206. This rod passesupward through a hole in the bed plate B and is provided with a collar207 having lingerk 208, Fig. 12, bearing eccentrically on an arm 208a ofthe short shaft 209 on which the picker 680 is pivoted, and forming partof its universal motion mounting. Upon depression of the shaft 206 thepicker 680 is made active in the usual way for the usual stockingknitting purposes. The lower end of the thrust rod 206 is pivoted at 210(Fig. 1) to a lever 211 pivoted at 124 and having one end in Contactwith cams on the drum 120; this part of the described connectionsl maybe relied upon to drop the rod 206 to actuate the picker controllingconnections 207, 208, 209, at the proper time. This will be permitted bythe absence of Yany lug 203 o n the chain C which might retain therocker 201 in its upward position. The downward motion -of the thrustbar 206 may be induced by cams on drum 120 (not shown) in two stages,for the purpose of operating the switch cam l415 during the first partof its descent and operating the picker 680 during the last part of itsdescent. As usual the switch cam' 415 f is mounted to rotate with ashort shaft 416 having an arm 417 over the upper end of the rod 206.Shaft 416 is provided with a pin 418 in the cam slot 419, for the usual.purposes. When heel and toe knitting is over the lonv butt instepneedleswhich have been raised by the cam 415 are returned to theirnormal position by elevating the rod 206 by the connection 210, 211 and120.

For the purpose of operating the cam 25 the rocker 201, etc., is nowrelied upon to move the thrust bar 206 further upward, and this motionis transmitted to the cam 25 as by a connection preferably comprising anarm 420 on the shaft 416, a horizontal rocker lever 421 pivoted at 422,Fig. 12, and taking under a depending pin 423 on an arm 424 pivoted at42a upon which arm the cam 25 is mounted. A spring 426tends to keep the251111 424 inwardly against the rocker lever Upward motions of thethrust rod 206 by the rockers201 and the lug 203 are permitted b y theconnection 210, 211, which is merely lifted away from its normalactuating cams.

In order toy insure that the needles travel on the ledge 41, for theiraccurate selection by thecams 4 and 25, or in order to adjust the amountof yarn respectively in the cylinder and in the dial wale of the fabric,or 1n order to depress'the needles to provide a place for the operationof a Stop-motion detector, not shown, I, prefer in some cases to arrangefor depression of all of the cylinder needles to a less extent than forknitting after both sets of needles have knit. The preferred means forthis purpose is cam 8, Figs. 5 and 12, on arm 18a pivoted at 18",

lill) lll.)

lll)

held inward by a spring 18", and moved out- Operation-In knittingstockings, the operation is from toe to top. Assuming the machine to berunning and the needles to be bare of any yarn, the needle dial to be inits lowest position, 'and the yarn fingers F to be elevated, their yarnsbeing held under the clamp c and ready for reinsertion, the operationbegins by the motion inward of cam 4 (Fig. 5) first to encounter thelong butt needles, and then by a motion during their passage to itsinward position to move all of the needles. Cam 9 is in its normal upperposition. The dial needles are retracted to their welt position, Fig. 2,the needles with the jacks 380 are taking their normal knitting path,and the needles without jacks are passing below t-he cams 360, 9 and361. A yarn finger F is now dropped into operative osition before andnear the passage of the following end of the long butt needles, and thecamfl is moved outwardly to run ofi:` the end of the long butt series atits next passage, whereupon all ofthe needles will take yarn for asecond course and subsequent courses. Enough fabric is thus kniton allof the needles to provide the loopers rounds (r, Fig. 25.

A motion of the drum 120 now operates the lever 281 to make a loosecourse by raising the needle cylinder and web holders during onerevolution, and the further motion of the pattern shaftiSO shifts theactuating elements of the machine to reciprocal motion, lowers the cam415 to switch the long butt and medium butt needles above the stitchcams, and the machine knits the toe pocket t as usual, the narrowingpickers 650 diminishing the series of active needles. A short motion ofthe drum 120 now puts the widening pickers GSU-pinto action, and afurther motion of theHshaftLSO causes the machine to resume rotatiom'theswitch cam 415 to be lifted to swichi'down the long and medium buttneedlesH-'tnd a change of yarn to be effected if desired. The machinenow knits the usual ring of fabric t following the toe for a few'rounds.

The next motion of the pat-tern mechanism drops the lower center cam 9,inserts cam 8. and inserts the cani 4 to position to act. on the longbutt needles only, whereupon the demarking structure r1 is made on thelong butt segment of cylinder needles, and cam 4 is removed. Dial D nowdescends to its lower position.

The cam block 615 is moved down to engage` their extreme position,respectively to opthe knitting cams with the longer butt series of-dialneedles only. There needles enter into course 15 in Fig. 27 and each ofthem takes an initial loop a, and t he instep p and sole S is knit withthe parts in this adjustment.

During the preceding operations the webholder-withdrawing cam 325 (Figs.14 to 18) has been in its upper idle position, and all of the webholders have been normally actuated. This cam 325 is now moved downwardby its operating connection to abnormally withdraw only tho:e webholders rw2 having the longer butts w18. On the completion of enoughpartly ribbed and partly plain fabric for the foot, the knittingvmotionis changed to reciprocation, the switch cam 415 is lowered andsimultaneously the dial needlesare retired by motion upward of the block615, with the effect of retaining the dial loops; the web holder cam 825is lifted out of action, the dial is raised coordinately with the upwardmotion of the instep segment of cylinder needles at ca m 415, and theheel is then knit as usual in making plain fabric stocking.

At the end of the heel the dial is lowered, the cam 325 is again placedin position to act on the high butts w18 of the web holders wz, and thedial cams arey rendered active by again depressing the bock 615coincivil) v(lently with resumption of rotary motion of the needlecylinder and dia-l. In this condition the machine is operated to makethe section of plain fabric h above the heel and to continue ribbing atthe instep segment.

It will be observed that the instep section p of the fabric may be asmuch less than half of the circumference of the tube knit as desired,the medium butt needles 'n3 occupyinr spaces intervening between thelends of tlie short butt heel and toe knitting needles and the positionof the ribbing needles. This provision enables the foot p. S, to be madenarrow. the added rib wales being comparatively few in number, and theirtendency to increase the width of the fabric being compensated for bythe relatively larger segment of plain fabric knit on the short butt andmedium butt needles, and of course, with a short stitch as governed bythe vertical position of the needle cylinder at this time.

The machine is now ready to`begin knitting rib fabric all around theleg. and for this purpose the cam 25 is moved in to lift the long buttneedles over the dividing cam 4: cam 4 is moved in and cam 9 positionedto carry down and tuck on the medium and short butt needles, and for thenekt course cams 25, 4 and 9 are taken out of the way, to knit on allthe cylinder needles; the dial cams carried by block 615 and the webholder cam .325 are moved downwardly to lil()

